Canes win nail-biter 67-66

Dwayne Collins scores two of his team-high 23 points on an alley-oop during Miami's 67-66 victory over Wake Forest. Matt Wallach //  The Miami Hurricane
Dwayne Collins scores two of his team-high 23 points on an alley-oop during Miami's 67-66 victory over Wake Forest. Matt Wallach // The Miami Hurricane

If the rest of Miami’s Atlantic Coast Conference schedule plays out like the home opener, it’s sure to be a doozy.

Senior guard Ishmael Smith’s jump shot over freshman guard Durand Scott missed with two seconds left as the Hurricanes (15-1, 1-1) held on 67-66 in a nail-biter against Wake Forest Saturday night at the BankUnited Center.

This marks the second consecutive game that the orange and green has won in the series to improve to 3-7 all time. Last season, the Canes upset the then-sixth-ranked Demon Deacons 79-52.

Senior forward Dwayne Collins led Miami with 23 points and 11 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season. Senior guard James Dews, who struggled with just six points, scored the winning basket – a put-back off a missed Collins layup – with 30 seconds left.

In a back-and-forth second half that saw Wake (11-3, 1-1) take a 54-53 lead on a 23-17 run, both Collins and senior forward Adrian Thomas gave the Canes a 60-54 lead on a layup and three-pointer, respectively, following missed free throws by Scott.

Miami struggled in transition, giving up easy baskets to the Deacs, and also committed 15 turnovers. With the victory, the Canes improved to 15-1 for the first time since 1959-1960.

UM heads to Blacksburg to take on the Virginia Tech Hokies (12-1, 0-0) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

Stats and tidbits

Malcolm Grant – 14 points

Durand Scott – 10 points

The band was back for tonight’s game with an announced crowd of 5,537.

Grant played the entire game without his trademark headband.

Both President Donna Shalala and head football coach Randy Shannon were present.